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Savannah Spiced Country Sausage

Source of Recipe

From "Pig: King of the Southern Table" by James Villas


Recipe Introduction

"The important role of herbs and spices in the distinctive cuisine of Savannah goes back to the first colonial merchant ships to arrive in the Carolina and Georgia Lowcountry in the early eighteenth century, and while today sausage making in most of the South usually involves little more seasoning than salt and pepper, sage, and perhaps some hot red pepper flakes, many Savannah home cooks still heavily spice their sausage just the way their ancestors did. Ideally, you should get in the habit of grinding your own sausage meat (remembering always to grind the chunks of pork and pork fat together to prevent clogging the blades with fat), but if this is a problem, any good butcher can do the job for you. The risky alternative, of course, is to use two pounds of commercial sausage and hope that the ratio of lean to fat is about right."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 ½ pounds ground pork shoulder
â—¦ ½ pound fresh ground pork fat
â—¦ 1 teaspoon salt
â—¦ ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
â—¦ â…› teaspoon ground ginger
â—¦ â…› teaspoon ground cinnamon
â—¦ Pinch of ground cloves
â—¦ 3 tablespoons cold water


Recipe

Cut the pork and pork fat into 2-inch cubes and pass first through the coarse blade, then through the fine blade of a meat grinder into a large bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients and mix with your hands till thoroughly blended. Form the mixture into a ball, wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before using.

When ready to cook, form the mixture into 6 to 8 patties and fry in a large skillet over moderate heat till cooked through and browned, 15 to 20 minutes, turning once and keeping the cooked patties hot till ready to serve.

Makes 2 pounds, 6 to 8 servings